Nothing Beats a Family
by christmasinacup
Summary: Joan and Arthur take a day off to be a normal couple - brunch, maternity shopping, etc. Very short one-shot.


A few weeks after the whole affair scandal broke, Joan and Arthur decided to take a full Sunday off. Instead of being Arthur Campbell, former DCS, and Joan Campbell, head of the DPD and most likely to become the next DCS, they wanted to just be Joan and Arthur Campbell, an expecting couple.

They had started with brunch, then browsed Home Depot for nursery paint colors and other supplies. Now they were in a maternity boutique in Georgetown.

Joan opened the to her dressing room stall door and did a little spin for Arthur, showing him the black maternity dress he had picked out.

Arthur smiled, the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes deepening.

"I love it. You look sexy and confident."

Joan blushed. "Thanks, honey."

She went back into the dressing room and Arthur pulled his Blackberry out of his pocket. He checked his emails and slipped it back.

"Not many men come in here with their wives," a salesgirl who was folding shirts on a nearby table remarked. "Your wife is very lucky."

"I am too," Arthur said to her. "We weren't expecting this to happen, and it's really changed our relationship."

"Well, congratulations to both of you. Let me know if you guys need anything," the salesgirl said, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her hair. She walked away, and Arthur smiled to himself. He planned to be as involved in the pregnancy as he would be in his child's life.

"What about this one?"

Joan came back out of the dressing room stall, wearing her own jeans and a plum-purple maternity shirt. Joan's four-months-pregnant stomach didn't fill out the top completely, but the empire waist fit perfectly.

Arthur nodded. "Yes. A million times yes." He stood up and walked to Joan, putting his arms on her stomach. She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I can't wait until this shirt fits you," he murmured to her, nuzzling his nose in her hair. She laughed.

"Me neither, to be honest. Is that weird?"

Arthur pulled back and looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that five months ago, neither of us knew we wanted this, and now we're both excitedly awaiting the birth of our child," she said with a smile. "Well, our…"

Arthur's eyes widened. "You know the sex?"

Joan sighed. "Yeah. I thought it would be a few more weeks, but then at my appointment a few days ago, the doctor said that I was far enough along… I couldn't _not_ know." She looked into his deep blue eyes. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head and smiled warmly. "No, it's okay. I was going to ask you tonight if you wanted to find out…" His face was sheepish. "I was really hoping you wanted to."

Joan took a deep breath. "Okay, so can I tell you?," she asked, so giddy she was basically bouncing up and down.

Arthur laughed and grinned. "Yeah."

"Okay… we're having a girl," Joan said, studying Arthur's face. His grin widened.

"A girl?"

She nodded, lips pursed in that sexy smile of hers.

He picked her up and spun her around. She laughed and wrapped her arms around him.

"We're having a girl!," he yelled. Joan blushed, looking around the boutique. It was mostly empty, but she was a very private person. Even in front of random strangers, she felt exposed.

"Arthur!"

"Oh, sorry," he whispered, putting her down and cupping her face. He kissed her.

"We're having a beautiful baby girl," he whispered, stroking her cheek. She nodded, unable to contain her bright smile.

"Yeah, we are," she said. "Baby girl Campbell."

"Well, as fantastic as this shirt looks on you, I would love to see it off," Arthur whispered in Joan's ear, his breath tickling her skin. "Can I take you home?"

Joan nodded eagerly. "Pregnancy hormones are kicking in," she whispered, slipping out of his grip. "You go get the car from the garage, and I'll pay. And then when we get home, we'll make this day just a little bit better."

Arthur grinned and kissed her once more before handing her his credit card. She went back into the dressing room to put her jeans and sweater back on, caressing her stomach.

"Sweetie, you're a miracle worker," she whispered to her stomach. "I love you."

She paid for the clothes and met Arthur in the car out front.

"Hey," Arthur said, winking at her from the driver's seat. "Get some good stuff?"

Joan nodded. "And I bought something you didn't see," she said, pulling a teal lace bra and underwear set out of the shopping bag. Arthur glanced at them and put his foot on the gas, causing Joan to burst into laughter.

She loved work, but she also loved the days where she and Arthur could act like a normal couple. And now they were both anxious to be a regular family.


End file.
